Bears will make a stop at Evansville on Friday before heading to Southern Illinois on Saturday

Senior Brittany Winter

Nov. 1, 2012

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The Missouri State swimming & diving team hits the road for a pair of conference dual meets with Evansville and Southern Illinois. On Friday, the Bears will be in Evansville, Ind. to take on the Purple Aces at 4 p.m. MSU continues its MVC trip with a visit to Carbondale, Ill. to take on the Salukis Saturday at 11 a.m. In addition to Southern Illinois, the men will also be competing in a dual against Air Force. This will be the first-ever meeting between the Bears and Falcons.

Last Time Out vs. Evansville
Missouri State wrapped up its regular season with wins over the Evansville men and women at Hammons Student Center pool (Jan. 27). On the women's side, the Bears captured a 149-94 win to move to 10-2 all-time against the Purple Aces. The MSU men beat Evansville 138-97 and remain perfect against the Purple Aces (15-0).

Last Time Out vs. Southern Illinois
The Bears both posted victories over conference-rival SIU last season. Missouri State hosted the Salukis at Hammons Student Center in the first dual meet of the 2011-12 season. The scores were similar as the women recorded a 132-109 win, while the men won 132-111. Despite gaining the edge in dual meet action, the MSU men were edged out by Southern Illinois at the MAC Championships in March. The Bears finished fourth at the conference meet and were just 38 points behind the Salukis.

Baryshok Earns MAC Swimmer of the Week
Sophomore Vitalii Baryshok was named Mid-American Conference Swimmer of the Week on Wednesday (Oct. 31) after an impressive performance against eight-time defending NCAA Division II national champion Drury on Oct. 26. It was the second consecutive week that an MSU swimmer garnered the weekly honor, as fellow sophomore Paul Le won the award on Oct. 24.

The 2012 all-MAC first team selection helped set the tone early as the anchor of the 400 medley relay. With a freestyle split of 44.18, Baryshok and his teammates (Yuri Garanito, Isaac Springer, Paul Le) broke a 3-year-old MSU pool record by more than a second.

He won the 200 free (1:38.90) and moved up to No. 23 in the national rankings and is less than a second off his first NCAA `B' cut for the season. To cap off the Homecoming event, Baryshok swam a season best in the 100 free with the MAC's fastest time (45.15).

On the Horizon
The Bears will make the trip to West Lafayette, Ind. to compete at the Purdue University Invitational, November 16-18. It will be the first prelims-finals meet for the Bears this season. The last time Missouri State visited the Boilermaker Aquatic Center was in 2010 for the Purdue Invitational.